On Wednesday, the leader of the Samajwadi Party, Akhilesh Yadav, urgently requested the Supreme Court to look into how the votes were counted in the West Bengal Assembly election and to make the videos from the counting centers available to everyone. He’s presenting this as a way to prove how open and honest things are, and connects it directly to people’s trust in the election and the important lead-up to the 2027 election in Uttar Pradesh.
Supreme Court intervention sought
From Lucknow on May 6, 2026, Yadav insisted the Court give immediate attention to the way the counting went in West Bengal. He said if a recording of the count is shown to the public, it would strengthen people’s belief in the result.
He pointed to the fact that court cases are now being shown publicly, and asked, “If court proceedings can be broadcast, why can’t the counting of votes?” He wonders why the video from the counting rooms isn’t available to the public.
Yadav first explained that he is making this request to prevent future problems, not to re-argue the election that has already happened. He says that being able to see the counting process is the essential piece of public oversight that is currently missing.
Here are the core demands he made for transparency in counting rooms:
– Immediate Supreme Court cognisance of the poll process
– Release of video recording from counting centres
– Live access to CCTV feeds during counting
Bengal verdict and political context
Yadav made these comments after the BJP won a large victory in West Bengal, beating Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress party. He had supported Banerjee and her party during the campaign. He also said he will be going to West Bengal.
He timed his request for transparency after the result was known to separate the issue of openness from the question of who won. He suggests the important thing is whether the public can watch and check the counting of the votes as it happens.
Claims of counting discrepancies and UP implications
Yadav says that in past elections and special elections in Uttar Pradesh, problems with the count have come up in recent years. He is worried that the kinds of things he says happened in West Bengal could be done on a much bigger scale when Uttar Pradesh votes next year.
He claims, “They will do what happened in Bengal, but on a larger scale in Uttar Pradesh. A complicated election ‘mafia’ will work together, do even more planning, and operate in Uttar Pradesh in the re2027 election,” and says that these actions could ruin the fairness of the election.
Yadav also says that the people he thinks interfered with the West Bengal election have been ‘revealed’. He argues that the only way to really deal with these concerns and stop it happening again is to have full view of the counting tables.
Why transparency in counting is the flashpoint
Yadav believes the problem with how trustworthy the election is doesn’t happen when people vote, but during the hours when the ballots or voting machines are added up. He says making the CCTV footage available would remove doubts and lessen the division after the result.
He adds that just as court hearings can be shown live, the vote counting should have a similar standard. He’s implying the question is whether our democratic procedures will allow being watched on camera whenever possible.
What to watch next
Yadav’s insistence is changing the discussion after the election from what the parties are saying to the possibility of the courts getting involved. He wants the Supreme Court to act quickly and show the videos from the counting rooms to the public. Because an election for the Assembly is scheduled for Uttar Pradesh next year, he wants to set the rules for how things will be done well before 2027.
